Wednesday, December 19, 2012

In months and years when I look back at this post, I want to remember the heartache I feel. A mentally ill man -- not much older than a child -- walked into a school where his mother volunteered and shot up a classroom of little children. I don't want to remember more details. I can't handle most of the news as it is, with my own darling boys playing before me as we ready the house for Christmas guests and gifts. There are parents and brothers and sisters and grandparents and friends in a little town in Connecticut, and their networks of family across the country, who are saying goodbye, instead of Merry Christmas.

What I want to remember is the outpouring of grief and support in my own community. In that case, my community is both here in Durham, NC, but also worldwide through the knitters on Ravelry and beyond. I'm part of a Ravelry group knitting critters to send to the children and families affected by the tragedy: 600 Monsters Strong for Connecticut. The lovely ladies at Three Irish Girls are offering colorways with donations going to the town; they are also planning to organize knitting blankets for the bereaved families.

Now how's that for beauty from horror? It makes my heart feel slightly lighter, to use my stitches in the hopes that someone hurting from this loss will feel one tiny ounce of support from someone who they will never meet. As always, the knitters step up.